Flindersia Xanthoxyla

Flindersia is a genus from 14 species of a tree in the member of family called Rutaceae. They are mostly found in the Moluccas, Australia (only New South Wales and Queensland), New Guinea and New Caledonia. Flindersia Xanthoxyla is also known as the Long Jack or Yellow wood. It is an Australian rainforest tree that comes from the citrus family. The species name xanthoxyla derived from ancient Greek which xanthos means “yellow” and xylon means “wood”. The natural range of allocation begins from the Richmond River, New South Wales until Gympie in South Eastern Queensland. It is originally known as Oxleya xanthoxyla in 1830 by Cunningham but rename to Flindersia Xanthoxyla by Karel Domin in 1930. This name was given as it is a member the Rutaceae family.

A young Flindersia xanthoxyla tree

This species can be found in littoral tropical or dry rainforests. However, it can also occur in sub tropical rainforest as in Davis Scrub Nature Reserve. The tree can grow as high as 45 meters, and the trunk diameter is 90 cm. It is cylindrical and straight with brownish grey bark or just grey. The tree skin features vertical crack or hole and peels off in plates. While small branches show distinct leaf scars, with hairy branches toward the ends, and on new leaflets and twigs. The leaves are compound and pinnate with 4-11 leaflets opposite on rachis. The leaflets are 2.2 to 13 centimeters wide. They are soft, dark green in color, either glossy or dull green above, and grey-white and downy below. Leaflet stalk about 2-6 millimeters long however the terminal leaflet has a longer stem with over 25 millimeters. Its leaves are quite small if compare to other Australian rainforest plants and the lateral veins are easily seen in above and below.

The flower of the Yellow Wood tree

Large open sprays of yellow flowers form on its panicles appear in the flowering season in the month of June to September. The panicles for these species are usually smaller than the leaves, and are growing from the forks of the leaves or at the end of the branchlets. The brown woody capsule is the fruit with 7 to 10 cm long, separated into 5 valves. On each side of valve have two or three seeds. These seeds include thin seed that surround the heavier central part of the seeds and these seeds are dispersed by wind. Germination normally commences after three weeks after two months with an 85% success rate. Germination from fresh seeds are relatively swift and reliable.

Flindersia Xanthoxyla is an ornamental tree and also planted as shade tree normally useful in parks and large blocks. Previously the tree is used for timber in the construction of coaches. The yellow, elastic and durable timber has steam bending qualities making it used extensively for coach building. The weight of the timber is between 575 and 900 kilograms per cubic meter. The wood has also been used for cabinet making, flooring, boat decking, tool handles, and ammunition boxes and was a recommended wood for manufacture of artificial limbs and joinery.